Battle of The Ancients
by v.m.m
Summary: completely AU, vamp fic
1. Default Chapter

Battle of the Ancients  
Prologue  
By: Victus Mors Mortis  
  
The rhythm beat, the blood pulsed, adrenaline taking its effect. Body's swayed in the small compacted area, and the bar was full of people. Live people. In fact most people in the room were mortal. The scent of their blood and sweat mingling was intoxicating to most of their um. shall we say species. People would be led to realize their mortality this evening. The victus mors mortis, were all around. Dance clubs, especially the illegal ones, were like honey to a bear for the Living Dead. People went missing, and no one would take notice. It was the perfect feeding ground, if you were one of their's, if you weren't, you were most likely their prey.   
  
She made her way into the crowd, and lost herself to the music, hips swaying to the beat, brushing against those close to her. As the music switched she lost herself in it all over, enjoying the feeling of her long term best friend behind her. Every time he was close it was like living in a Eutopia. Contact was relished, especially in these tight surroundings. Tonight though, they were not meant to enjoy the music, tonight they were here to feed.   
  
Slowly he ran his hands down her arms, smirking as she every so lightly tensed. She was such a tease. He nestled his head in her dark mop of hair, as she allowed him to join her in the dance. It wouldn't be long before they would need to feed, and just resisting the urge was hard enough with the close proximity of the people. Control, on his part, would not last much longer. Especially with the seducing manner in which his best friend was dancing. If she kept this up much longer he wouldn't be able to allow it to remain a mutual friendship. Not that she knew that, of course.   
  
"We need to feed," he whispered gently.   
  
The woman frowned so softly in return, and moved his hands down to her hips, noting his apprehensiveness with her advances. "Do we have too?" she pleaded.   
  
"Yes," her friend answered, "Come on now." He grabbed her hand, and began to weave through the crowd. The best prey would be near the doors. Someone lying in the darkness completely unnoticed. Virgins had the purest blood, you could always smell them out. They didn't normally choose to congregate here however.   
  
She elbowed him, and tipped her head towards one of the side entrances, where a very plainly dressed young woman was leaning against the wall. "Your territory, I'll wait outside." She shook her hand loose, and wound herself to another exit.   
  
Quietly he watched her go, even such sort partings were sorrow. Now was not the time to lament however. Smartly putting on a false grin, which would have appeared true to anyone else he stealithly moved over, and positioned himself next to the girl. "Care to dance?"   
  
The young woman looked up at him surprised by the sudden intrusion on her privacy, and excepted. Carefully guiding her out to the floor, he made sure to entrance her, then after enough time he led her outside.   
  
His prey followed him willingly down the backside street, until he noticed his dinner partner in the shadows. Gently he pushed her to the wall, and leaned in for what appeared to the unsuspecting woman as a kiss, but instead he went for her neck. His protruding fangs easily pierced the girls soft pale skin, and she struggled against him, but to no avail. In no way could she match his preternatural strength.   
  
Casting an envious glance from the shadows, the living dead moved in for her share of the meal, and her partner graciously handed the victim over, allowing her to draw her life source. The blood tasted sweet, not bitter as it had when she was mortal, such a change in things she mused, and continued to draw blood until the last bit was taken.   
  
The lifeless body, dropped limp to the ground when her strong arms released her hold on it. Slowly she licked her lips, taking enjoyment in the fact that her best friend seemed to be watching her while she did so. He would never understand how she wished she had more than simply friendship with one another. Those thoughts were always blocked from him, she kept them hidden away in her own personal mental safe. There were things he kept from her as well.   
  
"I'll take care of the body. I'll meet you at the garden?" The question was asked timidly with a bit of enjoyment and hope mixed in.   
  
He beemed down at her. "Of course," and with that he turned, his trench coat whipping around after him. His feelings of excitement mirroring her own.   
  
Pouting she looked at the dead body before her, they were always such a bother to get rid of.   
  
He took off for the garden, walking at a considerably slow pace for him. The extra time to think would do him good. Tonight he wanted to tell her how he felt, the idea alone terrified him, but there was only so long that he could bare to wait, and he had already waited, and incermountable amount of time. Carefully he planned out what he would say, knowing clear well that he'd probably blank when it came to tell her.   
  
When he reached the beautiful gothic gates to the garden, he swung them open carelessly, and was met with the passive face of his mentor, and maker. If he had been paying more attention to his senses, instead of thinking he would have known that this man was going to be here, but he hadn't and was now slightly unready to deal with the sharp witted, quick tongued man.   
  
"Good evening," the older man said, a smile raising to greet his friend. "Take a walk with me will you," he added in his somewhat smooth, commanding voice.   
  
The man nodded, and followed his mentor obediently.   
  
"You know the elders, correct?"   
  
The young man nodded an affirmative.   
  
"Do you know of the feuds?"   
  
Again another affirmative.   
  
"Do you know they've heightened."   
  
Again another positive. He was becoming slightly agitated with his maker. What was with all the pointless questions?   
  
"They've started a war, and they're calling for sides."   
  
Finally the very bluntness he was used to was back. The news was only to be expected. "Do we need to?" he asked.   
  
"All rogues are being killed on site, and I can assure you death in this form is quite painful."   
  
"Of course," he answered absentmindedly. "Is that all?"   
  
"I suppose so, yes," and without even a goodbye his mentor left, leaving him behind to ponder exactly what he'd do.   
  
Cold hands wrapped around his waist, and a head was gently pressed against his back, bringing him out of his short lived solitary thinking. "What is it," a soft, gentle, sweet voice asked. "You have me worried you know. I can always tell what you're going through, and its scaring me, you being so worried and all. It's not like you to worry over simple things, which means it something big."   
  
He smiled inwardly, how she knew so much about him he never knew, he kept all his thoughts blocked from her so none of his fantasies leaked out, vampires had incredible memories, and he did not want her sifting through memories of his dreams, or not just yet anyway. He drew her closer. "The ancients are waging another war, and we need to pick sides, or we can go rogue, which means if we're caught, we'll be killed."   
  
"I know, I know," she whispered. "Let's think about it later, huh, besides my Uncle's one of them, I'm sorta bias and all, but you know I'll stick with you. Tonight is tonight though, and we should live, and live it large." She spun him around to face her. "I'm going to take you out for some fun. I don't think admiring the garden is quite what you're going to need tonight to break your sudden solemnece."   
  
He smiled outwardly this time and thanked her, she always knew what to do to lighten the mood, however pressing the matter was.   
  
A/N: So what do you think? Good? Bad?  
  
4/26/02  
  



	2. 2

As Treize's foreboding thoughts came to a head he took a good look around him.  Sunrise would be soon, and he would need to safely return to his abode, a coffin hidden in one of Northern America's most famous, yet unrecognized forts.  It was no longer a strategic military position as it had been in the late 18th century, so it served his purposes well.  There were the queens' gardens down by the waterfront, not to far from the lake that held his dear roses, whose wonderful site in full bloom was forever more denied him.  He left the forest surrounding the fort and headed back to it.

Of the twelve ancients, the one ruling the eastern half of the North America was rather lax, especially seeing whom he would have to deal with when it came to his opposing forces.  The twelve old men, and while they may not look it, they were old, very old and feared, were all somewhat eccentric, or rather maddening, maybe that much time alive, or dead, could do that to a Vampire.  It was all rather annoying.  He had the urge to simply unify his species, and eradicate the elders.  That however would take an enormous amount of effort, but if the calling for sides continued then a mass destruction of his people would occur, and maybe, just maybe it would be easy enough for him in that moment to unify them, with help of course, and bring things to ahead, eliminating those that caused the conflicts.

He scaled the wall to the fort with one jump, and landed with graceful ease upon the upper walkway.  As he landed, a mental flash of one of his own appeared behind him, and he spun quickly around to see who dared intrude on his area without invitation.  The man surveyed was a servant, one of the counselor's pages, only sent out to tell of meetings of the entire twelve, or warnings given by them all.  

"Sir, I have a message for you."

Treize simply nodded, and took the old fashioned letter sealed with a wax stamp from the pages hand and waved him off.  The stairways he descended were old and made completely of stone, he had kept the building true to its original purpose, and design, only now below the powder magazine was his lair, which was never to be intruded upon unless one wished for a most painful death.  It was his area, completely redesigned to fit his tastes, and his needs.  It was set in a rustic gothic style, dark and lit only by torches which he lit by thought alone.  Soundlessly he entered to find his lady there, awaiting his presence.

"You stayed out rather late your excellency."

"Rather early, actually," he said looking at her for the first time that day.  Instead of her brown hair up in buns, as per her normal style she was wearing it down.

"It looks nice." he stated, and sat down at his desk to read over the letter which still unopened was mentally itching his brain curiously.

"Thank-you," Une responded, and watched and waited while her 'lover' read over the note in his possession.  Several expressions were shown flashing across his face, a rare thing as he normally kept his facial features warm and politically polite no matter where he was or what he was doing.  The fires which had been lit were without warning extinguished as soon as Une could hear his Excellency's thoughts.

In three days the ancients would meet, in three days hell would be brought to earth, in three days an army had to be prepared, and not simply any of those wanting to participate in the now forming coup d etat could, it would have to be the best of them, the best and the oldest, those holding the most capabilities under their belts, most of which were well hidden to keep the ancients from paying them unwanted attention.

"As soon as night falls your Excellency, everything will begin to start."

"Good, we'll feed early, find the most delicious mortal around, or maybe two of them, and suck them dry.  What do you say my sweet?" he asked looking across at Une, the pure darkness doing nothing to impede his enhanced vision.  "Would you like an early blood fest to get things rolling?"

Une stared back at him for a moment with cold calculating eyes, and laid back into her coffin, and slid the cover shut.  "Of course."

A/N:  I hope you liked this short addition.  Please give me comments, please, I'm begging you, and sorry for the oh, two month wait for the next chapter.

6/22/02


End file.
